In the age of fantasy books of ridiculous lengths--why, hello, Way of Kings--and series that may never be finished--ah-hem, George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss--I've rediscovered my love of novellas. de Bodard has written an intriguing, sure to be award-nominated novella about a mind-ship hired by a brilliant, drug-addicted woman who wants to retrieve a dead body for study. Naturally, it turns out that it was no mere space-accident that caused the untimely death. When the shipmind, The Shadow's Child, takes the job, she finds herself confronting her own past.

"But she'd lived through a war, an uprising and a famine, and she was done with diminishing herself to spare the feelings of others."

I wasn't expecting a Sherlock style construction, but the parallels soon became clear. Of course, it might have helped that I have been very slowly working my way through the recent Cumberbatch incarnation of Sherlock. Like the Moffat and Gatiss version, this somehow manages to retain a feeling of whimsy in the midst of fear, suspicion, self-doubt, and a mildly sociopathic lead. When I finished, I thought, "well, that was fun," but fun is not the right word, not quite. 'Satisfying' might be better. It pays tribute to the Sherlock format but does something so very different that it feels very new.

As always, I enjoy de Bodard's writing style. Complex and descriptive, well-suited to the challenge of the world and the story.

"A middle-aged woman, with loose, mottled skin hanging loose on rib cage and pelvic bone, her shape already compressed into improbably angles by the pressures of unreality around her--she'd had a shadow skin to survive the vacuum of normal space, but of course it wouldn't have survived the plunge into deep spaces: the long, dark tatters of it streamed from her corpse like hair, or threads tying her to an impossibly distant puppet-master."

I was very intrigued by the setting, a pan-Asian future world in which people use mind-ships to travel through the deep reaches of space, but the world-building feels just this side of under-done. Though I eventually felt I had a working handle on the mind-ships, it wasn't early enough to make me feel like I understood all the subtext, or how A Shadow's Child could be so damaged. I'm motivated to track down some of her other works in this universe and learn more. I know she can be talented at world building; the Obsidian and Blood series (my review for the first), set in the pre-Colombian Aztec Empire, is immersive and fascinating.

On re-reading, I think that characterization could be improved somewhat, to make this an outstanding. The Shadow's Child ends up sounding a little too neurotic, with an ever-present anxiety. Anxious about money, about going into deep space, about the reliability of Long Chau, she felt barely functional or sympathetic. If you would like a reader to believe a ship can have a personality, it best be a semi-functional one, believable for competently managing existence through unseen depths of space and multiple human generations. In this, there is perhaps the most deviation from the Sherlock structure, with a Watson that is more irritably challenging and less an admiring echo.

The e-reader edition had some minor formatting issues that I would expect would be fixed, and a rare challenge in word choice or punctuation. More importantly, I'm not exactly sure if the science of the space stands up to reality (see streaming ribbons mentioned above), but I'm not one to be finicky about my space details. But I mention it for hard-core readers who might be.

Review with links to Sherlock and de Bodard's pages on the universe: https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2018/...

Many thanks to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for an e-reader ARC.

(Disclaimer: I received this free book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

I was, and still am, so fascinated by the relationship between The Shadow's Child and Long Chau. I know there's a whole mystery aspect to it, and that is intriguing as well, but I have been fascinated with the whole idea of sentient spaceships ever since I heard of The Ship That Could Sing (which may not actually be the title).

So let's dive right into that aspect of the review - I was really happy with The Shadow's Child. I am still not sure if I can really wrap my head around the concept - but it's not de Bodard's fault - my own limited human brain. But I keep coming back to this idea and so I keep challenging myself.

That being said, I truly adored the characters of Long Chau and The Shadow's Child. They were enigmatic, but also empathetic.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2318514682

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A different take on Sherlock Holmes and Watson. The Shadow's Child is a midship who lost its entire crew in an attack in deep space leaving the ship damaged. The ship now makes a living brewing special mixtures to fit individual people. The ship plays the part of Watson and Long Chau a woman who is off to solve a mystery is a take on Holmes. I found the story to be interesting but as I read I kept thinking about the take on the ship. It reminded me of books by Anne McCaffrey like The Ship That Sang and Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. There were elements of both in the story and I was distracted from the story as I mentally compared the ships in the other two stories.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I received the ebook ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a review.

This is a Sherlock Holmes in space. Sherlock is a woman, and Watson is a spaceship (or, more precisely, the organic mind of one). When I first heard of this, I was quite interested to see the result, and I was right to be curious. The idea is fascinating, and it is mostly done justice. The worldbuilding in particular was engrossing and beautifully rendered; there are quite a few passages about the deep space that were both poetic and evocative. There was just something about the style that appealed to me, that I connected with on the level of language. In addition, I found the characters to be constructed with care and attention. This short novella offers glimpses into them, but these glimpses are enough to make one feel for the characters.

In short: four stars on science fiction front, four stars on writing of characters. The only complaint I have is that this didn't really have a "working" mystery. I don't remember original Sherlock Holmes novels and stories well enough to compare, but here there's a lot about the world that the reader doesn't know (particularly one like me, who hasn't read any other Xuya novels) and not much by way of clues or misdirections. We don't know things and then we learn them; not much space for making guesses. (And the other minor mystery is pretty obvious.)

But this may be simply an issue for me, or for a first part of a potential new series. Either way, I enjoyed a lot about the reading and would quite like to read more of Xuya at some point.

Aliette de Bodard has crafted an alluring alternate history in her The Universe of Xuya: a series with multiple entry points for any reader, a mosaic created with each new piece placed;
threads of tales that stand well alone, yet weave a more satisfying tapestry with each new story read.

The Tea Master and the Detective is a well crafted mystery/detective story at its heart, with a small set of flawed yet substantial characters, placed in a time and culture where mindships and people interact in a unique political and familial setting.

As a stand-alone story everything becomes well defined for the first time reader and has a satisfying beginning and conclusion. As part of a larger story for those more familiar with the universe there might be a little repetition, but it does not distract from the tale.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and Subterranean Press in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed all the Xuya stories I've read, so I'm grateful for a pre-publication look at this one.

This novella is entirely from the perspective of a (wounded) mindship, which is new among the Xuya stories I've read, and an element I appreciated. We get a look at the conventions and technologies by which the mindships interact among humans. For me, the Holmesian element was influence and homage rather than pastiche.

I'm going back and forth with myself as to whether this is a good place to start with the Xuya Universe, and I think the answer is "one good starting point." Other stories have had rather different settings and perspectives, so you should keep going if you like this one.

The ending clearly hints that we could see more of the characters, which I would love.

I received a galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

de Bodard's Xuya Universe explores a fantastically-fresh space opera future based on Vietnamese culture. In this new novella, to be released from Subterranean Press, she smartly created a new take on Sherlock Holmes. This is not an easy feat, especially when one considers that Watson (the point of view for the story, as appropriate) is a battle-traumatized mindship with a multitude of bots, and Holmes is a drugged-out woman detective with a peculiar case to solve, loosely based on "A Study in Scarlet." The author intertwines her Xuya setting and Holmes with a deft hand. In the end, I didn't care how the case was resolved--I just wanted to enjoy how everything was woven together to reach that point!

As this is a novella, it's quite a fast read. The story is the perfect length; enjoy it with a few cups of tea.

THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE is a strangely compelling tale. Though I don't read much science fiction and a non-romance at that, I found myself turning the pages as I tried to solve the mystery of Long Chau together with The Shadow's Child.

A short intro for new readers like me: The Shadow's Child is a shipmind, a sentient being inhabiting a ship. Shipminds usually worked in the militia, but due to a tragic past, The Shadow's Child decided to leave, thus she's now having problems taking in work to support her rent. She makes blends for customers. Blends are a mixture of compounds that humans take in to calm their minds and help them when they go into deep space, for example. Well, that's the blend that's used here, so I'm not sure if there are other types of blends.

In any case, this customer--Long Chau--came in, wanting a blend to take for when she goes into deep space to retrieve a corpse for her studies. Long Chau irritated The Shadow's Child--Long Chau was arrogant and mysterious and The Shadow's Child felt unease around her, coupled with her terror of going back into deep space, where her tragic past occurred. When the corpse they retrieved appeared to be questionable, The Shadow's Child felt even more disturbed as she was dragged into the case.

I have to say that when I first started the story, I was a bit confused. I hadn't expected one of the main characters to be a shipmind, and that the entire story would be from her POV. But I think the author made the right call, as it was fascinating to see things from the shipmind's perspective and we get to even see that there's a shipmind community!

But I'm glad I stuck with it, because the worldbuilding is incredible. I feel like what is shown here is a mere drop in what the author has revealed to us about her world, and I can't wait to learn more. I love the Vietnamese culture against which this story is set, and also the Sherlock Holmes-inspired Long Chau and Watson a grumpy decommissioned war mindship.

The mystery is compelling, although I don't understand why Tuyet would be sent by her community into the same situation as Hai Anh. Maybe I missed something in the reading, so don't let this deter you. I certainly didn't!

While this story is certainly an original, I feel it's too short! We're given a glimpse into The Shadow's Child and Long Chau, and then the story is done. There's so much more about them that I want to know about, and I want the next book now. Please, let it be a full-length novel. :)

Update: Upon perusing the author's website, it's noted that this is a novella in The Universe of Xuya series, the 3rd book actually. Going to glom on the other two books! But let it be noted that I want more Long Chau and The Shadow's Child. Rating: 4.5 stars

This was a very difficult book to get into. I still have no idea what mindships are in this world and how they function, what the author means when she says deep space, how the world works in general, but I did enjoy the mystery bits. It was interesting to have a detective book solely from the perspective of the very confused sidekick and not as in most books where the sidekick is supposed to be clueless but because they are the narrator and the author wants the reader to know whats happening isn't actually all that clueless this sidekick is clueless.

Vietnamese-flavored Sherlock Holmes IN SPACE, except that Sherlock's a woman and Watson's a spaceship. This novella should have been right up my alley, but I didn't care for the style or the slow pace, and the characters just didn't gel with me. Not my thing, but maybe it's yours.

Mary Robinette Kowal described it best when she said: "The Tea Master is an astonishing Holmesian mystery, in which Holmes is a woman and Watson is a spaceship. It is everything I wanted it to be. Tea, space, and mysteries within mysteries."

Aliette de Bodard's writing is always stellar and her Xuya Universe is fascinating. There's always a new aspect of it to be examined, new genres to be crossed over, and great new characters to discover. I heartily recommend this.

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
The Tea Master and the Detective (Xuya Universe)
by Aliette de Bodard (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review
Jan 23, 2018 · edit

it was amazing

MINI- MASTERPIECE! This is my first encounter with the fiction of Aliette de Bodard and was amazed that in 98 pages she was able to seamlessly blend the genres of alternate history SF with resolution of two mysteries. It is no surprise she is a multi award winning author.
The setting is the Scattered Pearls belt where obviously the dominant culture is Eastern with their scholars and scientists able to attain the stars with all of the accoutrements of advance technology to accomplish their dominance. Enter the two main unusual protagonists: the sentient Mindship, The Shadow's Child and the abrasive scholar-detective Long Chau. Both have "fallen from grace" from previous transgressions - and naturally effect their subsequent actions.
The Shadow's Child is not actually an AI, since "she" was conceived in a human's womb and has
an extremely large array of emotions. Feeling disgraced from her past military events in Deep Space ,
she is now resigned to an occasional passenger transport along with the provision of the mystical "tea" brew of drugs that will allow the human mind to tolerate the hazards of Deep Space travel.
The abrasive Long Chau hires the avatar of The Shadow's Child to take her into Deep Space to recover "any" corpse which would allow her to complete her scholarly study on the deterioration effects of Deep Space on the human body. Recovering of the corpse leads to a resolution of two mysteries and formation of a complex partnership between the two.
With an amazing economy of lyrical and poetic prose de Bodard spins an emotionally complicated tale that demands the reader to seek out more of her fiction.
Thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for providing an electronic uncorrected proof of the marvelous short novel in exchange for an honest review. # @SubPress

I loved this story - the ship mind perspective and the Sherlock Holmes vibes... it all comes together in an excellent and intriguing way. I very much hope there are follow ups, but either way it was a joy to read.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Wow" seems to be a fairly standard reaction for me when it comes to Aliette de Bodard. She has a way of painting with prose that is evocative without being flowery, and nowhere is that more evident than in her Universe of Xuya books. Each is a novella, but the plotting is tight and the characters beautifully drawn.

This latest installment has elements of Sherlock Holmes (with the traditional mystery elements that entails) deftly blended with space opera elements and an expanded understanding of the Xuya Universe. We meet a former military shipmind (yes, a sentient spaceship is a main character and it is amazing). The Shadow's Child is suffering from shellshock, barely making ends meet financially, when her path crosses with a consulting detective on a mission. The interaction between these two very different yet strangely similar female characters is a delight, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment with them. I'm only sad this gem of a novella wasn't longer.

The Teamaster and the Detective is an amazing read that will satisfy your cravings for science fiction and Holmesian mystery in a go. In the world of Bodard’s imagining, living mindships enable travel through deep spaces, both in actual and virtual form. The teas they brew enable individuals to survive such travel with their serenity and sanity intact. Most mindships belong to illustrious families, but The Shadow’s Child is alone, surviving by selling individualized brews to travelers. The Shadow’s Child is more than sentient, it is a self aware individual with hopes, fears and a burgeoning curiosity. It becomes the Dr Watson to a Long Chau’s Holmes. Bodard’s conception is at once a clear homage to Conan Doyle and a unique creation in its own right. My only complaint is that I finished The Tea Master and the Detective so quickly. I wanted more.

I'm eager to see where Aliette de Bodard takes Long Chau and The Shadow’s Child. While a complete story, The Tea Master and the Detective is a debut that will leave readers hungry for more.

5 / 5

I received a copy of The Tea Master and the Detective from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

The Tea Master and the Detective is a speculative fiction novella that reimagines Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as a female (possibly Vietnamese?) consulting detective and a female “mindship,” respectively. The story is set in a future world heavily influenced by Asian culture (and remarkably well-developed given the brevity of the text), in which humans live in the farthest reaches of space and have created human-spaceship hybrids to handle the difficulties of traveling in deep space. It is fascinating, both as science fiction and as a mystery, though in both cases it is lacking in some ways. Missing on the sci-fi side, among other things, are the reasons behind, and details of, the creation of “mindships.” Despite these issues, though, the book is enjoyable and thought-provoking. I will certainly be looking to read more de Bodard in the future!

The Tea Master & The Detective by Aliette de Bodard- This is a cat & mouse game between a damaged ship-mind retired from service and eking out a living as a brew-master of exotic teas that help people endure the strange unsettling effects of Deep Space or as she calls it Deep Spaces, and a stranger, who wishes to retrieve a corpse from these deep spaces, much to the reluctance of the ship-mind. As they begin their journey we gradually learn more about their recent lives and how their pasts have marked them. The stranger is a detective of sorts, searching for something mysterious and crucial to her survival. Aliette de Bodard has created a very personal and interesting universe to tell her story. The prose is both lyrical and poetic, and vividly unique. Never disappointing, I look forward to everything she writes. It's always first rate and more.

I was sold when I read a description of this as a "Holmesian mystery, in which Holmes is a woman and Watson is a spaceship". I have not read any of the other stories set in the Xuya Universe so it was a bit confusing in the beginning trying to understand what was going on. Once I did though I really loved the world it was set in. Long Chau and The Shadow's Child are two of the more interesting characters I have come across and play off each other so well. A quick read at less than 100 pages it left me wanting more adventures with these two characters. Now I need to go back and check out some of the other stories set in this Universe.